


Transgression

by Kotodashi_Kyoshi (Cinnamon_Silvertiger)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dark Hermione, Darling Daphne, Draco gets posessed, Evil Hermione, F/M, Mentions of Rape, Not pretending at all, Pretending to go to the dark side, Pureblood Hermione Granger, Watch your mouth Astoria, badass Hermione
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:27:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28402467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinnamon_Silvertiger/pseuds/Kotodashi_Kyoshi
Summary: You can only pretend to be something for so long until you actually become it, and she'd been conditioned all her life for this moment. To pretend to go to the Dark Side, to pretend to fall in love with the Dark Lord. Only, in the end, she wasn't pretending anymore. Dark Hermione!
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott, Hermione Granger/Tom Riddle
Comments: 4
Kudos: 41





	1. 1

Draco stared at the door in front of him, silently wondering what the Dark Lord had in store for them tonight. Currently he was standing in a small room, listening to the roar of Death Eaters that had been celebrating their victory over the death of Harry in the Forbidden Forest, on the other side. Their way of celebrating, of course, had been to torture the Muggles that they had been collecting as prisoners over the past few weeks.

Draco was actually surprised they hadn't taken Harry's body, that the Dark Lord hadn't wanted to string it up at the gate of Hogwarts as if to shove it in the Order's face. He looked around at the small group of his friends and former classmates. They were to be presented as the face of the future to the Dark Lord's followers, to be marked and trained and shaped into what the Dark Lord had in store for his ideal world.

Daphne and Astoria Greengrass were standing against the wall, the younger girl picking at her nails in boredom. Pansy stood close to his side, readably scared and failing at trying to hide it. He felt sorry for her, she'd never hurt a fly in her life, she'd been all bark and no bite in school and he didn't know how she was going to make it through this.

Flanking her other side was Blaise Zabini, the tall Italian had her small hand in his and was rubbing his thumb over her knuckles affectionately, trying to soothe her fears. Draco was glad that they had found solace in each other in these hard times, Merlin knew he wasn't able to give Pansy what she had always wanted from him.

On his other side was Theodore Nott. Though they had been best friends almost all of their lives, the past year had estranged them until Harry had lost, then they had all been ushered into one wing of Malfoy Manor and forced to live amongst each other for the past week until the Dark Lord had decided they were to be presented.

Draco had heard whisperings of how the Dark Lord no longer had the appearance of the snake like figure he once wore proudly, but instead had shed his skin so to speak, in favor of his human form. It was odd, and the whispers from the Death Eaters were curious, making Draco even more uneasy as to what the night was to bring.

"I don't understand why we're being kept like hostages in this room. They could have at least had the decency to give us somewhere proper to wait," Astoria huffed.

Draco turned and glared at her, "you should be grateful the Dark Lord is even wasting his time on you. It'd do you good to remember your place and keep your mouth shut."

She glared at him and went back to examining her nails, ignoring the embarrassed look her sister was giving her. Pansy shivered, and Blaise pulled her closer to his side, letting out a long sigh.

"It really doesn't make sense, mate. We're being treated as though we are prisoners ourselves, surely this is not what our future is going to be like?" he looked at him pointedly.

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning his eyes back to the door in front of them. He heard the door in the back of the room open and shut, and wouldn't have even paid it any attention had Theo not gone stiff beside him all of a sudden.

He turned his head and his breath caught in his throat when he saw who it was. Hermione Granger was walking up to the front of the room, four Death Eaters boxing her in, hands shackled in front of her. She was clean, yet she still bore the marks she had earned in the battle, and dressed in what Draco assumed was a slave uniform of some sort.

The material was gauzy and hung over her shoulders to cover her breasts and fell to the floor, banded under the breasts and at the waist, falling between her legs. It showed a fair amount of skin in the front and barely covered her back, and both of her legs were exposed from the thigh down, peeking through the material. Her hair hung down her back freely, and she wore a determined look on her face instead of a frightened one.

"Oooh, is she our initiation kill? I would so love to torture her mercilessly before we kill her," Astoria said excitedly.

Draco gave her a nasty glare and was about to say something when Theo beat him to it with a snappish, "shut your mouth."

"He's right," Pansy said, turning to give Astoria a dirty look, "I wouldn't wish what she's about to go through on anyone, not even her."

Blaise squeezed her hand tighter and shushed her, not wanting the Death Eaters accompanying Hermione to hear what they were saying. Draco turned his head towards Theo, who had gone back to staring at Hermione, and gently nudged him in the side. Theo tore his eyes away from her to look at him, an unreadable look in his eyes.

Draco was about to ask what his deal was when the doors opened and two Death Eaters came in and started moving them out. He noticed, briefly, that Hermione had been kept in the room and the doors had been shut behind them.

The room quieted down as they were walked to the middle of it, his parents and Bellatrix at the front of the room standing next to the Dark Lord. He noticed all of the parents of their group was there, except for Blaise's mother who lived in Italy.

"Ah, the future of our world! Come closer, my pets, let me get a good look at those of you I haven't had the pleasure of meeting yet," Voldemort said, gliding down the stairs he was at the top of to come closer to them.

Astoria was the first to greet him, head held high with a gleam in her eye, "my Lord, it will be my pleasure to serve you."

He gave her a once over then pushed her aside, ignoring the way she pouted at his dismissal. He walked closer to Draco, Theo, and Blaise, a smile on his face. "I am most excited about young Misters Malfoy, Nott, and Zabini here. Especially you, Mister Zabini."

Blaise glanced at Draco out of the corner of his eye, obviously confused, before shifting his gaze back to Voldemort. "I am yours to command, My Lord," he said as he bowed.

"That's good to know, Mister Zabini, for I feel as though we will have much to talk about in the coming days," Voldemort turned his back and starting walking back towards the base of the stairs.

"My Lord?" Blaise questioned.

He turned at the base of the stairs and looked back at Blaise with amused eyes, "you are about to be in for quite the surprise. Send her in!" he bellowed.

The doors behind the small group opened, and the murmurs and whispers from the crowd grew louder as Hermione stepped through them. She walked to where Voldemort was standing and the Death Eaters removed her shackles. Draco half expected her to pull a wand from somewhere and start throwing hexes, but was surprised when she instead smirked at the Dark Lord.

"My friends and loyal supporters, it may come as a surprise to see Harry Potter's best friend standing amongst you. Or perhaps some of you are not so surprised, but instead think that she is here to serve as our entertainment for the evening. However, it _will_ surprise you to hear that she is here to _join_ our side. Or rather, take her rightful place where she belongs."

The whispers from the crowd grew to full on confused comments and nasty slurs about her heritage. Draco looked at his friends in confusion, and did a double take on the pained look in Theo's eyes. His attention was brought back to the front of the room as his own father yelled for everyone to shut their mouths. If that wasn't what quieted everyone down, it was the look on Voldemort's face that did it.

"You see, Miss Granger isn't in fact, _Miss Granger_ at all. No, in fact when I encountered her during her first year at Hogwarts, her sheer intelligence made me question her parentage. No muggle could be as magically gifted as she, it had to have been a mistake. So I had that Quirrel fellow look into it for me, and low and behold Miss Granger here was _adopted_ ," he paused as more murmuring erupted from the crowd.

He waited a few moments for it to die down before continuing, "upon further research I found that there was in fact, a Pureblood witch who gave her up for adoption when she was just a baby. Just a babe, thrown to the wind, in favor of a worthy male heir to keep the bloodline flowing."

"Who is he talking about?" Pansy whispered between Draco and Blaise, but neither of them could answer. Draco looked at Hermione, who was still wearing that damn smirk on her face, surveying the crowd.

"Yes, what a mistake I thought at first. But then, an opportunity. You see, I led Hermione to her true parentage back in her second year at Hogwarts, and I presented her with an opportunity. One which she agreed to most readily, a chance to take her rightful place amongst us, where she belongs. However, a chance to help us from the other side, a spy of sorts. And just what family does she belong to, you ask? Well, may I present to you, Hermione _Zabini_."

Gasps were heard around the room, and all eyes had turned to Blaise whose dark skin had ashened. "How was I not aware of this?" he whispered.

Voldemort turned to face him, while walking to Hermione's side. Hermione was looking at Blaise fiercely, her amber eyes bright and daring. "Your mother never wanted the Zabini inheritance to go to a female heir who would marry someday and end the Zabini line, so she hid her with a powerful spell and not quite a year later you were born, Mister Zabini," he lifted a hand to run along Hermione's arm and up and across her shoulders.

A glowing light appeared where his hand traced and Hermione closed her eyes and shivered. Draco gulped as her appearance started to change slightly, her skin became tanned, not as dark as Blaise's but not the milky complexion she'd always had. Her amber eyes seemed to grow more intense, and her hair deepened in shade, gone were the bushy curls replaced by silky deep chocolate waves. The Dark Lord stood on the other side of her, trailing a hand up to grab her chin and guide her face towards him.

"This, my loyal servants, is the face of our future," he bent and placed a soft kiss on her lips. One that she returned, one that struck silence throughout the room. One that made Draco reach out and grab Theo, who had taken a few steps forward, as if to try and stop what was happening.

"Now, my pet, run along and get to know your new toys better," he gestured towards Draco and the rest of the group still standing there with shocked expressions on their faces.

Hermione smiled and bowed, "yes, My Lord."

She turned towards them and walked up to Blaise, "come dear brother, we have much to discuss."

Blaise smartly kept his mouth shut, and bowed to the Dark Lord before following her out a door in the side of the room, everyone else walking behind them. After following her down the hall for a short walk, she opened a door that led into a study of sorts. There was a roaring fireplace with a few high backed chairs in front of it, and a large desk. Draco had never seen the room before in his life, and guessed that it was just one of many in the Manor that he had never explored.

"Cut the crap, Granger! What the fuck was that?!" Blaise roared at her.

"Watch your tone, brother dear, everything the Dark Lord says is true. Ask mummy dearest if you don't believe me, while you still can," she responded in a dark tone.

"Don't you threaten my mother," Blaise walked towards her, reaching for his wand.

Hermione held out her hand and Blaise stopped mid-stride, she curled her hand like she would around a mug and he fell to his knees, choking on air. Pansy rushed forward to try and help him but the look Hermione gave her made her freeze.

"Perhaps you weren't listening, but _our_ mother kept my heritage from me, all so that our precious bloodline would continue. She could have killed me instead, but what she did was much worse in my opinion, leaving me to be raised by filth! Leaving me to a life of terror and torment at your hands!" she gestured towards all of them in the room. Blaise was still struggling to breathe, and fell forward on his hands.

Astoria stepped forward, her eyes dark with disgust, "you will never be great like us, Granger. I don't know what bull you've managed to feed the Dark Lord, but you won't get away with it."

Hermione unclenched her hand and Blaise gasped for air, Pansy rushing forward to help him. Hermione turned towards Astoria and an unsettling smirk appeared on her face again, "little Greengrass, you just never know when to shut your mouth do you? Do you think the Dark Lord would bat an eye if I killed you? Do you think you are that precious? Let's see how worthy you think you are when you can't even utter a single spell any longer," she raised her hand and whipped it down.

Astoria fell to the floor holding her mouth, blood pooling out through the cracks in her hands. Daphne rushed forward and pulled her hands away, trying to see what was wrong so that she could fix it. She jumped back when a lump of meat fell out of Astoria's hands, her tongue. Astoria was making strangled gurgling noises and stared at Hermione with wide eyes.

"Daphne, take your sister and clean her up, I trust that you don't need to be told twice," Hermione said.

Daphne nodded and actually paused to bow slightly before helping Astoria up and out of the room. Pansy looked like she was going to be sick, and Blaise was glaring up at her. Hermione smiled and turned to face the rest of them again.

She walked over to where Pansy was kneeling next to Blaise, and when Pansy realized she was standing in front of her, she rose and kept her eyes focused on the floor. Hermione reached out and lifted her chin so that the other girl was looking at her, "I heard what you said, back in the room. Compassion can be looked at as a weakness, but it can also be a strength. Prove yourself worthy of my compassion, for all the years of hell you put me through."

Pansy looked at her with wide eyes and nodded slowly. Blaise stood and pulled her back to stand beside him, still glaring at Hermione, but not bothering to say a word.

"And what about me?"

Draco turned to look at Theo, who had asked the question and was looking at Hermione with narrowed eyes. He watched, as Hermione turned to look at Theo and the smirk was replaced with a knowing smile.

"Oh my dear, dear, Theodore," she started walking towards him slowly. When she got to him she cupped his face in her hands, a gesture that made Theo's eyes flutter and caused Blaise and Draco to look at each other in confusion.

"You'll be what you've always been, Theo." She leaned down and ghosted her lips across his, "my mistress."

Theo's eyes snapped open and he pulled himself away from her. He opened his mouth to say something but the look on her face made him close it, staring at her for a few moments before turning and walking out the door. Blaise turned to follow him, pulling Pansy along with him, leaving Draco with her in the room alone.

She was turned away from him, and the silence that hung in the air was deafening. When he was sure she wasn't going to say something first, he said his first words to her softly, "Potter is with the Order in case you were wondering. He made it out safe."

Her silence had him question whether or not he had said the right thing. Finally, she turned and looked at him, and gave him a simple nod. He let out a sigh of relief and narrowed his eyes at her, "is that shit about being a Zabini real? I don't even think _you_ could have pulled off that lie."

"It's the truth, I've known for years. But it was easier to spy for the Dark Lord as the muggle best friend of Harry Potter, they all would have treated me differently if it had been found out who I really was."

"And what was that shit with Theo? What the fuck was that about?" his voice had raised and her eyes snapped up to him, a sneer on her face.

"What's wrong, Malfoy? Upset that I was able to seduce your best friend who thought I was a muggleborn?"

"I'm upset that _both_ of you kept that information from me!"

Draco found himself pinned up against the wall by Hermione's arm against his neck, "you have two options, Malfoy. You either stand by my side as my right hand man and help me, or you die, it's simple. You don't question me, you don't question Theo, and you sure as hell don't report to the Order without asking me first," she spat.

She let go of him and he straightened his robes. He stared at her for a moment before giving her a mock bow and turning to leave. As his hand hit the doorknob he turned to face her once more, "careful, Granger. Don't forget which side you're on."

She turned away from him, towards the fire, and he took that as his dismissal. When he went to open the door however, he stopped as his blood ran cold at the sound Hermione was making. He turned slowly and looked at her again and realized it was laughter, and not the kind of laugh you make when someone tells a joke.

But a bone chilling, hair raising, laugh that sent shivers up Draco's spine….and vanished all his hope for the future.


	2. 2

Draco watched as Hermione sat in front of the fire, barely blinking as the hot flames kissed the air around her face, lips barely moving as if she was silently reciting something. He stood in the shadow of the entry hall into the room, but he knew that she was aware of his presence.

It was early morning, and she was dressed in a black silk robe, her hair hanging in waves down her back. Her eyes were lined and lips painted red, and he briefly wondered if perhaps his Aunt Bellatrix once looked as beautiful, before the darkness stole it away.

He wondered if one day Hermione would look as ugly.

He hadn't been able to get a report out to the Order for weeks, since she'd arrived at the Manor she had barely let him out of her sight, always calling him back to her whenever he ventured too far. He had tried to get Pansy to send one, but after what had happened to Astoria and Blaise she wasn't exactly jumping at the opportunity to do anything against Hermione's wishes.

"Send a report out to Harry, make sure you are thorough, he will try to strike them down soon," her voice was so quiet he had almost not heard her.

He stepped out of the shadows and came to stand behind her, stopping just out of reach of the fire's heat, "what is going on, Granger?"

He watched as she tensed at the use of her old surname, her eyes moving from the fire, molten gold seeking icy grey. He wondered how he hadn't noticed how beautiful her eyes were, before all this madness.

Her voice came out in a hurried whisper, "if I lose my tether I'll lose myself. If I lose myself then I'll become lost. If I become lost, then you will all die." She turned back to the fire and resumed her silent chanting.

Her words screamed dark magic, and they chilled him to the core. He'd grown up around dark magic all of his life, but seeing someone like her caught up in it when he still couldn't figure out what was going on was disturbing. No matter the fact that she turned out to be Pureblooded this whole time, he still couldn't view her as anything other than muggle Hermione Granger.

It was the last time he saw that muggle part of her for a very long time after that day.

* * *

"What do you think she means by tether?" Daphne nervously looked at Draco.

Astoria had been removed from the Manor per Hermione's request, and Daphne felt like Hermione was just waiting for her to slip up as her sister did so that she could punish her too. She was always quick snap at Daphne, and the eldest Greengrass sister found herself wishing for the frizzy headed bookworm back.

"It seems to me like she's anchored herself to something, something she's afraid of losing, but only when that part of her is brought to the surface. I've been watching her closely to see if there's anything out of the ordinary, anything she's seeking to destroy since the dark part of her has taken over, but I haven't noticed anything," he shrugged as he leaned back in his chair.

"Have you heard from them?" Blaise asked.

They all knew who _they_ were since Draco had broken down and told them that he had been working with the Order. He told them that the plan was to infiltrate from the inside and Hermione was the key to everything, but he had been kept in the dark about her heritage, and he had no idea what she was talking about as far as the tether. When he had sent his report to the Order he had included what she had said that day by the fire, but it had been almost a week and he had received no answer.

He played with the coin in his pocket, the one he used to communicate with Harry, an invention Hermione had come up back in their fifth year he had found out. But she had charmed them to include longer messages long before this plan had been put into motion.

He shook his head, "not yet. Sometimes it can take days."

"Has anyone seen Theo?" Pansy asked quietly.

Blaise snorted, "he's been locked up in her room for the better part of the last two days. Fucking prat, did you know that they've been shagging since sixth year? How the bloody hell do you think he managed to keep that from us?"

"I was a bit preoccupied," Draco said quietly.

"Well the rest of us weren't," Blaise spat.

"We noticed," Daphne said in a small voice motioning to Pansy. "We noticed that he was really happy all of a sudden, and he was gone a lot. But none of us would have imagined it was her making him that way."

Pansy nodded in agreement, "I was just happy to see him in a better place after his father was sent to Azkaban."

Draco's shoulders sagged a bit, even if Theo had wanted to tell him it wasn't like Draco had really made himself available to his friends that year. Not only that, but would Theo really have told him that he had started shagging Gryffindor's Princess? Most likely not.

He felt the coin in his pocket start to get warm and he looked around the table before taking it out to read it.

_Theo is her tether_

* * *

He had been trying to figure out what the message meant all week, even going as far to try and ask Theo himself, but they still hadn't seen much of him. Blaise had made a joke about how Hermione had called him her mistress, essentially her sex slave, but Draco had pointed out that if Theo was her mistress then that meant she was already bound to another. They had assumed Weasley, but found out just how very wrong they were.

Draco was standing just on the inside of her room, he had been summoned by her almost an hour ago but she hadn't spoken a word to him since he'd arrived. He sighed, unhappy that he was being treated no better than a common house elf, having to follow her every order on a whim.

She snapped the book she had been reading shut, and uncrossed her legs swinging them down from the couch she had been laying on. Draco was about to say something when he noticed a movement on the other side of the room. He had been so immersed in his thoughts he hadn't even noticed that the Dark Lord had entered from the other side of the room and had been standing there watching her, much like he himself had been.

Draco straightened himself and shrunk back against the shadows as the Dark Lord neared her. She smiled a great show of pearly white teeth and red lips that looked as if they had been stained with wine, or blood. She held out her hand and Draco watched in awe as the Dark Lord took it and kissed the back of it, pulling her up from the couch and towards him so that their bodies were touching.

They were a silent show of intense power, Draco swore that he could almost see their magic swirling around each other in a dance of light and dark. There was a look on Hermione's face that he uncomfortably categorized as pleasure, but he quickly realized that she was having her memories looked at, her gaze a careful construction of what she wanted the Dark Lord to see.

"The boy continues to test my patience," once a slow slither of a voice was now a rich velvet, smooth as he reached up to push away a piece of hair that had fallen into her face.

She smirked up at him and cocked her head to the side, "is that why you shed your skin? For me, my Lord?"

"Feelings are foolish, no my dear it is simply your power that calls to me. Your power is seductive, so much knowledge in someone who grew up as you did, hidden away from our world. So much potential you have, by my side."

She lightly rolled her hips and his lips parted, something flashing in his eyes that made Draco want to look away, but he found that he couldn't.

"What you _were_ transcends man, but you've shed that skin now, and every man has needs. Why else would you be so over protective when it comes to Theo?" She asked him, her voice low and deliberate.

He scowled and lifted her chin, "the only thing you asked me for was to not harm young Theodore. But make no mistake, Miss Zabini, you belong to me."

He lowered his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, but Hermione pushed herself to the tip of her toes and deepened the kiss, steadying herself by grabbing the front of his robes.

Draco finally lowered his eyes, a red hue on his cheeks. His eyes however didn't stay lowered as he heard Hermione make a sound that was a cross between a yelp and a laugh.

The Dark Lord had fisted a hand in her hair and yanked her away from him, forcing her to sit back on the couch as he held his mouth with his other hand. Draco had to squint to see it, at first believing the red smeared on Hermione's lips was her lipstick, but he realized it was blood. She had bitten the Dark Lord hard enough to draw blood.

He glared down at her with a look of fury in his eyes mixed with lust. Like he was torn between cursing her or ripping off her clothes. It made Draco wonder just how long Hermione had been conditioned for this role, if she was able to evoke such emotions in someone like Voldemort.

"Like I said, Tom," she purred, "every man has needs."

Draco's eyes widened, thinking for sure she was going to be cursed now for using his real name. He waited for the Crucio to come but there was nothing.

Just a flurry of dark robes as the Dark Lord left the room, and Hermione's bone chilling laugh.

* * *

"Did you ever love me?" Theo's voice was strained as he stared longingly at Hermione's back while she was facing the fire.

Draco had followed him to her room that night, careful to keep himself shielded and using a disillusionment charm so that she couldn't detect him, hoping to get some answers as to how exactly she was tethered to Theo.

He was in the corner of the room, where he could see both of them clearly, and he watched as an array of emotions swept over her face as she was asked the question.

"Once I believe I did, Theo, and that part of me still does. But in order to protect you I have to send you away."

"What do you mean in order to protect me? I'm in the safest place that I could possibly be right now. I'm not leaving you here with that monster!"

Draco watched as her hands came up and clutched the mantle in front of her, squeezing her eyes shut. "Theo, I'm afraid it is I that is going to become the monster."

She turned and walked to him, pulling him into an embrace and then gently kissing him, "this is my mission. This is what I've been training all these years for, and I can't fully do my job with you around. As long as you're near me I'm too much like her, it's like I can't think properly. I'm going to get you killed."

"You aren't making any sense, Hermione," Theo pulled her away from him slightly so that he could see her face. "Why won't you talk to me?"

"The less you know the better," her voice was soft as she lifted her wand to Theo's head.

Draco made a move to grab his own wand to stop her but found that he was paralyzed and couldn't move. He watched as she whispered _Imperio_ and told Theo to allow himself to be captured by the Order the next time they went out to the battle field.

He watched as a tear made its way down her face as she watched Theo leave the room, without another sound. Suddenly she turned her eyes towards him, and he gulped as he realized that his charm was no longer in place and she was the reason he couldn't move.

She walked over to his corner and released him from his paralyzed state. "The Dark Lord will kill him if I do not send him away," she murmured.

"I wouldn't think he would stoop as low as petty jealousy," Draco said, but his words didn't have the bite he was hoping they would.

"Theo causes problems, because I have this inane urge to protect him, and it's seen as a weakness," she walked back over to the fire and sat on the couch with her head in her hands.

"Theo causes problems because he's in love with you, and I think once upon a time you were in love with him too, Granger. For some reason, dear old _Tom_ is infatuated with you, and I don't think it will take him long to succumb to his… _needs_." Draco was feeling brazen and empowered seeing her sitting on the couch in such despair. It gave him a sense of comfort to be talking to her freely in such a manner again.

The feeling was short lived as her eyes snapped up to his and she rose in a fluid motion and backed him up into the wall, "the tone in your voice suggests that you find it disgusting that the Dark Lord would fancy me. Yet you watch me every chance you get. Tell me, Draco, is it mere curiosity? Trying to figure out exactly what my mission is? Or is there something lying there beneath the surface perhaps? Something in you that wants to know just how I managed to get Theo into my bed and now captured the attention of a being who otherwise has never known such feelings, something in you that wants to know what it's like to be with me, now that such power has awakened within me?" Her voice was almost a whisper next to his ear as she trailed a darkly painted fingernail down his chest.

As she pulled back slightly from him, he looked her straight in the eyes, "I watch you because it's my job to watch you."

She smirked, "not even curious in the slightest?"

His breath caught in his throat as her finger roamed over the band of his trousers and moved lower, she laughed a throaty chuckle as she pressed her body against his and whispered in his ear, "your body betrays you, Draco."

She laughed as he grabbed her hand and pushed her away from him, "is that your mission then? To get everyone to fall into bed with you, sorry, Granger, but you're not that charming."

Her laughter died in her throat and she glared at him, rage burning in her eyes, "leave me! Go and make sure Theo does what he was told!"

Her magic swirled around her and it made his skin tingle. He realized suddenly that there were two personalities brewing inside of the body before him, good Hermione and bad Hermione, and bad Hermione took over like a light switch being turned on. He briskly left the room without looking back.

It hit Draco all of a sudden, what exactly Theo being her tether meant. It meant that as long as Theo was around she would be anchored to being good Hermione. But that girl couldn't do what needed to be done, whatever her mission was, she needed to be fully able to give into her dark side to do it. The side that rarely showed when Theo was around, the side that took over when he was away. If Theo died, the good part of Hermione would be lost forever, and if the good Hermione was lost.

Then they would all die.


	3. 3

It'd been weeks since Theo had been _captured_ by the Order, and Draco had tried to make himself as scarce as possible when it had come to Hermione. Now that Theo had been removed, there was no more "good" side to her, she was pure evil. And he was terrified of her.

Today, however, it didn't seem like he was going to be as lucky. She'd summoned him to her chambers as soon as the Dark Lord had left the Manor. Seems he was off to interrogate someone about the whereabouts of the Elder Wand. Draco couldn't believe that he had actually left Hermione behind, they had been joined at the hip since Theo had disappeared from the picture.

He was disgustingly sure that they had been sharing the same bed. Which again made him question how long Hermione had been conditioned for her role. But the Dark Lord had left, and he hadn't taken Hermione with him, and now Draco was in her room and she was no where to be found.

Suddenly, the same house elf that had given him the message to meet her appeared with a crack. She was holding a note and a wine glass filled with a dark red liquid. She held both out to him silently, the elves hadn't spoken in months, and disappeared as quickly as she had arrived once he had taken them.

He set the drink on the mantle of the fireplace once he had taken a whiff, appearing to be a simple red wine. Unfolding the parchment he read the note, and then had to read it again to make sure he was reading it correctly.

_Make sure I drink this as soon as you can once I arrive, until I have do not mention anything about working for the Order_

He frowned and slipped the note into his inner robe pocket as he heard the door open. Glancing up, he grabbed the wine glass and leaned against the wall nonchalantly. She paused when she saw him standing there and gave him a strange look, Pansy, who had been following her, also raised an eyebrow at him.

He silently counted to three before flashing his best smile, "there you are, I was beginning to think you were avoiding me."

Hermione slowly moved forward into the room while glaring at him suspiciously, "now why would I be avoiding you, Malfoy?"

"Because you've been so busy, I thought you could use a break. A nice glass of wine," he held the glass out while slowly circling behind her. "Perhaps a bath," he drew his fingers up her arm and brought his hands to her shoulders, kneading them softly.

"Pansy, you are dismissed," she said with a sigh.

Draco turned to look over his shoulder and almost laughed at the incredulous look on Pansy's face that cleared read _what the hell are you doing_? He jerked his head towards the door, telling her to go and with a slight nod of her head she left.

He turned back and continued his ministrations on Hermione's shoulders as she lifted the glass to her lips. She took a sip, then made a strange face as she lifted the glass once more and finished it off. Within seconds she was wrenching herself out of his arms and had turned to look at him oddly.

"What the bloody hell are you doing, Malfoy?"

He stood silent, not sure of how to answer her, and when he finally opened his mouth to say something she interrupted him, "he's gone isn't he?"

Draco thought she meant the Dark Lord at first, but the look in her eyes made him rethink that she was talking about Theo.

"I had this arranged a while ago, it took forever to convince the house elves to do it. Harry and I worked for years on this potion, it brings me back to myself even if Theo isn't around," she sat down on the sofa and ran a hand through her hair.

"Granger, maybe it's time you explained some things to me, like what the hell is going on?!"

She shook her head as she looked into the fire, "the less you know the better."

"Bullocks, what are you and Potter playing at? At least give me a little something to go off of, you have help here, Granger. But you're so bloody moody all the time that I don't know which way is up with you," he sat on the opposite end of the sofa.

"When Theo is near me, I have more control over myself, but when he's more than a certain distance away it cuts our connection I guess you could say."

"What connection? What the hell is a tether?"

"He anchors me…to myself. To the sane part of me that cannot exist if I'm to do my job right," she looked up at him, the fire reflecting in her eyes and he frowned.

"What exactly is your job, Granger?"

She gave a short laugh, "I've always been smart, smartest witch of our year, gifted to say the least. Voldemort has always wanted power, and I was born with a lot of power to control. My parents thought that they could keep me safe from him, thought that they could trust Dumbledore, it was the worst mistake they could have ever made."

Draco shook his head in confusion, "wait a second, Blaise's father died before he was even born and you yourself said his mom gave you up in favor of him."

"Lies, all lies. Our father did die before Blaise was born, but before that him and our mother did entrust Dumbledore with me. Even as a newborn babe Dumbledore said that my power was incredible. Unlike anything he had ever witnessed before, and that Voldemort would surely want to either harness that power or destroy me. So my parents did what they thought was best, and told the few people that had known about me that I died as I was being born."

"Theo's mother was one of those people, and she didn't believe my parents. She wrote it down in a journal she kept, there were tons of journals she had written, and Theo has them all. I think her suspicions are what got her killed when Theo was young." She grew quiet and looked down at her lap as tears gathered in her eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this when you first came here?" He asked her, surprisingly his voice was soft for the amount of confusion and anger that was welling up inside of him.

"I had…have a part to play, Malfoy."

"And where does Theo fit into all of this?"

Hermione smiled and looked up at him, "Theo read his mother's journals and naturally pieced it all together. There's always been tension between his father and our mother and it always made Theo wonder why. He's clever, it's what drew me to him in the first place. He started coming to the library more, and we started talking, the more time we spent together the more I felt like I had someone who truly understood me. All my life I had never felt like I belonged, I lived so many lies, but with Theo it was like he could see through it all and just see me."

"Do you love him?" The question was out of Draco's mouth before he could stop it.

She nodded, "yes. I do. It's why Harry suggested him to be my tether. He had a part to play as well, even if he didn't fully understand what it was."

Draco thought back to the conversation she had had with the Dark Lord and how it clearly seemed as if Theo was getting under his skin by being around Hermione. "If you love Theo then how can you be with someone like the Dark Lord, doesn't it disgust you? He's got to be more than half your age, you saw what he was before he became man again. Doesn't that bother you?"

Hermione grimaced at his words and looked back to the fire, "when she's taken over me it doesn't really matter."

"When who has taken over?"

"The dark side of me, the side that you are all in danger from. Her goal is to truly do the Dark Lord's bidding, to fulfill his every need."

 _Every man has needs_ she had said it weeks earlier Draco remembered.

"So you're shagging the Dark Lord? Granger, you really have fallen low haven't you?"

A visible shudder ran through her body and Draco felt sorry for her for a moment, "all men have needs, Malfoy. All men also have weaknesses, my job is to become his."

"Do I even want to know how you were supposed to prepare for _that_?!"

She shook her head, "it's not as bad as it sounds really."

He scoffed, "what shagging him? Or having to prepare to be seductive enough to do it?"

"Preparing for it, Theo made that part easy, "she smirked and looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

He made a gagging sound and lounged back on the sofa, swinging his arm across the back. "So what happens now, Granger? How can we help you?"

She sighed softly, "in about an hour the potion will wear off, you won't see this side of me again. Keep helping Harry in any way that you can, make sure they keep Theo out of trouble. Harry knows that Theo can't be allowed on any of the missions, especially once I start going on raids. Harry will know when the time is right."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her, "you speak as though this side of you will never be coming back. Don't you have faith in your precious Potter?"

She didn't answer him right away which gave him a queasy feeling in his stomach. "Granger?"

"It isn't that I don't have faith in him, I just know what has to be done." She sounded tired and at that exact moment she looked tired as well.

"How long _have_ you been preparing for all of this?" He had to ask.

"The Order has been preparing for the last few years or so-"

He cut her off, "no. I mean _you_ …how long have _you_ been conditioning for this role, Granger?"

It seemed like minutes before she finally replied, "all my life. Dumbledore has been preparing me for this ever since I was old enough to understand."

Draco couldn't stop the wave of pity that rolled over him. She really had fooled everyone, everything that she had dealt with in school, all the while knowing how all their fates were going to intertwine someday. He wished in that moment that he had treated her better.

Minutes did pass, and finally he laid an awkward hand on her shoulder. She continued to look into the fire as he spoke very uncharacteristic words, "once this is all over, you and Theo can have your happily ever after. You will come out of this, Granger. We all will."

She laughed as she turned to look at him, "you still don't get it do you?"

At his confused look she shrugged his hand off her shoulder and stood, walking over to the fireplace.

"There is no happily ever after, Malfoy. Harry will win, that I'm sure of. But it's not going to be a fairy tale ending," she turned and looked into his eyes and her next words filled Draco with a feeling he couldn't quite describe.

"I was never meant to make it past the war, I was always meant to die, and Theo has to be the one to do it."


	4. 4

Pansy leaned back in her chair with her eyebrows raised, "wow."

"You can say that again," Blaise who was sitting next to her ran a hand down his face for about the hundredth time that evening.

Draco nodded, he had just explained everything that Hermione had told him the night before. They had sat in her room in silence for a little while longer before she had urged him to go, feeling the effects of the potion start to wear off.

He had found himself wanting to stay, to not leave her alone. He had felt some sort of camaraderie brewing where she was concerned, and it was almost as if it was easier now that he knew she was actually a Zabini, as stupid as it may have seemed. It wasn't like it forgave the way he had acted in the past, but she didn't seem to hold any grudges.

"I can't believe that he basically raised her as cattle, and she knew the whole time that she was going to be slaughtered," Pansy said.

"I can, he's always been a crazy old man hasn't he?" Blaise nearly shouted. He wasn't entirely sure how to feel about Hermione, but at the moment he felt nothing for her but pity. Even with the revelation that she was his sister, he didn't feel any sort of familial connection to her at all.

"Who would have thought any of this was going to happen? It's like we're living a bad dream," Daphne's voice was small from the corner of the room.

They all nodded in unison, a bad dream indeed.

* * *

Theo hit the punching bag in front of him again, smearing the blood from his knuckles across the dirty white surface, but he didn't feel it. He didn't feel anything.

"Oy, mate. You're gonna break your hand," Seamus said, coming into the area that they had made into muggle style gym. For some reason a large number of male students had been assigned to the same safe house and there was a lot of aggression and testosterone in such a small area, so a few of them had gotten together to make the gym.

Theo had basically lived in that gym since he'd arrived. He caught the bag as it swung back at him and sighed, reaching down for his water bottle, "that's what potions are for."

Seamus frowned at him as he laced up his shoes, "the potions are meant for the people who get injured out on missions, Nott. Not people who feel like banging themselves up just to do it."

Theo frowned back at him and rolled his eyes. He hunched over and drew into himself as Harry and Ron entered the room, he didn't like either of them much. He didn't know if it was because they were Hermione's best friends, or because Ron still thought that Hermione was his and honestly that really bothered Theo.

He had to wonder how much of _his_ and Hermione's relationship was real and how much was a lie. She had told him that she had loved him once, he wondered if she still did. It had been months since he had left the Manor, and rumor had it that her and the Dark Lord were sharing a bed. Whether that meant just spending a lot of private time together or actually being intimate, he didn't know.

The Dark Lord didn't seem like the type of man to be bothered with physical attractions, however it had greatly bothered him that Theo was openly vying for her affections. Bothered him so much that Hermione had thought he was in danger, so she sent him away so that he wouldn't get himself killed. But he already felt dead on the inside after hearing those rumors, and he could only hope that Draco would keep her as safe as he could without blowing his cover.

Ron walked by, glaring at him, but Harry actually came over to sit next to him on the bench. "I've received a letter from Malfoy, I thought you might want to take a look," his words were quiet, as if he didn't want Ron and Seamus to overhear.

He gave a slight nod and stood, heading out of the gym, hearing Harry tell the other two that he needed Theo's knowledge on a dark arts spell. He smirked, damn Gryffindors were so much like Slytherins at times.

Harry appeared outside a moment later, and motioned for Theo to follow him. They walked outside through a small courtyard and took a seat on the ivy covered bench in the corner. Harry pulled out the parchment and handed it over to Theo, he didn't let go of it however when Theo grabbed it.

"You aren't going to like what it says, I know I didn't," Harry's voice sounded like it was going to break. He finally let go and got up to leave so that Theo could have privacy.

Theo waited until he had disappeared back inside before unfolding the parchment and after taking a deep breath, he started to read.

_Potter,_

_She almost killed Daphne today. Surprisingly it was Pansy who talked her down from it, they seem to have formed a sort of friendship-if you could call it that. I never thought I would say this, but I'm downright terrified of her. The Dark Lord won't be leaving on any more trips without her, he's become obsessive to the point where I would venture to say he cares for her. She's done her job well, and the time to strike will be soon. I think we can save her, I think we have to try. I don't know why I care honestly, maybe it's for Theo's sake, maybe I feel bad after learning of everything she's gone through. But you have to start preparing for the end, and it has to be soon. I can never tell if what I hear is true or if the Death Eaters are just talking nonsense, but word is he's going to try and tie her to him. At first I thought that meant make her a horcrux or something like it, but Pansy said she's no longer taking certain potions, which lead her to believe that the Dark Lord plans on having her give him an heir. We were trying to make sure that doesn't happen, slipping the potion into her drinks, but Daphne got caught today by a house elf who has pledged her loyalty to Hermione, whether she's good or bad. Her guard is up when it comes to all of us, Pansy included. Work fast, Potter. We don't have much time._

_D.L.M._

Theo felt like he was going to be sick moments before turning around to lose his lunch in the bushes. The letter not only confirmed that she was sleeping with the Dark Lord, but it also confirmed that she'd completely allowed herself to be consumed by the dark side.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder but he didn't turn around, he knew it was Harry. He'd been a decent guy to him ever since Theo had come to them, knowing of the relationship him and Hermione had had. He hadn't even been mad, just said that Hermione had been happy when they were seeing each other at Hogwarts, and that's all that mattered to him.

Theo had felt that it was a little strange, for Harry to accept him so easily. It was like there was more to it, but Harry wasn't telling him the rest of the story. He always seemed to be in the dark about whatever was going on, no matter what side he was on.

But after reading that note, he planned on getting to the bottom of this particular story.

* * *

Draco fixed his stare forward at a random spot on the wall, clenching and unclenching his fists as Hermione walked around him. He'd been summoned to her room, where she had been lounging on the sofa in front of the fireplace, wearing a black corset with stockings and a lacy robe that was open over it. Upon arriving, he had questioned why she needed to see him when she was dressed in such attire.

That had been a mistake.

She'd crucio'd him on the spot, nothing that had hurt too badly, but enough to make him remember it wasn't his place to question her. And now she was circling him like he was a wounded animal that she was ready to pounce on and tear apart.

"I'm sure you've heard the rumors that the Dark Lord wants me to bear him an heir, that's why you and your little friends were trying to feed me that potion weren't you?" Her voice sounded like pure velvet, and he hated himself for reacting to it, but it left whispers on his skin that made his cock twitch. He frowned, remembering that his body had betrayed him once before in this very room when she was speaking to him, and he found it strange that his mind was thinking anything but _those_ kinds of thoughts.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, my lady. I assure you I knew nothing of Daphne's plan," he responded, always the obedient soldier. She had to believe that he was loyal to her.

She ran her fingers down his arm as she walked behind him, then brought both arms around his waist, pressing herself against his back as she stood on her toes to whisper, "the problem, my dear Draco, is that even though he is all powerful, he is in truth only a half-blood."

Draco turned his head to the side, causing her lips to brush against his ear sending shivers down his spine, "I'm afraid I don't understand."

She smiled, all red lips and perfect straight white teeth, as she moved to stand in front of him. She took his face in her hands and drew herself closer so that her chest was up against his, "the Dark Lord has restraints against siring another half-blood. You see, dear Draco, it would make sense to give him a Pureblooded heir. After all, that _is_ what he stands for."

Draco's brows furrowed in confusion, she couldn't possibly be talking about what he thought she was talking about. He tried to pull his face away from her but he found that he couldn't move. He realized that she had once again frozen him with non verbal magic. His blood turned cold, and his eyes searched hers frantically.

"Pardon me, my Lady, but I don't think I quite follow what you are trying to say."

She threw her head back and laughed and it was the most melodic sound Draco had ever heard in his life. He tried to shake his head clear of those thoughts but it was like he had been drugged and it was slowly starting to take effect. She let go of his face as she backed away from him and slowly moved to stretch out on the sofa. After a few moments he was able to move again, and found himself walking towards her, even though his mind was screaming for him to stop.

"It was hard to convince him that this would be the best way, that a Pureblood heir was what he needed instead of a true heir that would only be a half-blood. Consider this payback for all the wretched things you did to me in school, because what better punishment than forcing you to give _me_ a child that you may or may not live to see grow up and completely destroy the world. Your _only_ child who will never know you as a father, but as a soldier in _his_ father's army. Yes, it was hard to convince the Dark Lord that this would be the best way, but it wasn't hard to convince him that you would be the best choice."

Draco's instincts were telling him to run but his body wouldn't listen, he didn't know what non verbal magic she was using but it felt like a body bind curse, amortentia and an Imperio all in one. By the time she had finished speaking he found himself on his knees in front of her, hands on either side of her now that she was sitting up, looking slightly up so that his eyes were locked on hers again.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen hmm, Malfoy? Still, I never could deny those infamous Malfoy looks. Even when I hated you so, I couldn't deny that you were beautiful. But I settled for Theo…and now?" She took his chin in her hand as she lowered her face to his, her voice wrapping around him like a set of silk sheets that had delicious promises of pleasure. His mind grew foggy but he felt her lips on his as she laid the barest of kisses on them.

"Now I'll settle for you too."


	5. 5

Draco felt like a cold bucket of ice water had been poured on him as he went flying across the room. It took him a few seconds to realize what had happened, all he saw were a flurry of robes and the sparking of the Dark Lord's aura. Then a resounding slap could be heard.

He'd never felt so relieved to be in the Dark Lord's presence. He could see Hermione, being held by her throat with her feet dangling in the air, while their Lord gnashed his teeth in her face as he reprimanded her.

"Just what do you think you are _doing_?" he roared.

"You agreed that he would be the perfect choice to produce an heir! I'm doing what has to be done should _you_ fail!"

The air in the room seemed to shift very suddenly with her words and Draco felt as if he were amidst a block of ice. He stood, shakily, and braced himself against the wall he had been thrown into.

"I agreed he would be the perfect choice to produce an heir to carry on my legacy, yes. I did NOT agree that you would be the one to carry the child!"

Draco narrowed his eyes at her from across the room, what the hell kind of game was she playing at? She was going to get him killed! He didn't even want to think about what would have happened if the Dark Lord hadn't interrupted her little playtime.

Her power flared out and pushed the Dark Lord back, dropping her as if she'd stung him. "I am the ONLY woman powerful enough to pass on the genes needed. A Zabini and a Malfoy, could you imagine the power? Could you imagine the legacy that a child of that breeding could give you?"

"You are not to be touched by anyone!" he ground out between clenched teeth. He walked closer so that their powers flared together and suddenly the room got very hot. "And you are not to touch anyone. Or do you need to be reminded of your place?"

Hermione glared at him from under her thick lashes, she opened her mouth to speak but after a moment her face fell and she bowed her head, "no, My Lord."

The energy in the room returned to normal as he turned to face Draco, "she likes to play with her toys doesn't she?"

Draco felt like it was a rhetorical question and dared to scowl while asking, "may I be excused?"

"Petulant child," the Dark Lord sneered as he waved him away.

Draco made his way across the room without so much as a backwards glance at them, he didn't even feel bad as he heard the struggle Hermione put up as she fought what he assumed was a non verbal Crucio.

It seemed the Dark Lord _did_ have limits when it came to her.

* * *

"What are ya thinking about there, Ron?"

Theo looked up from his book as Seamus sat across from Ron on the far side of the room. He hadn't even noticed that the ginger haired boy had entered into the small library, too lost in his own thoughts.

"Just thinking about Hermione," Ron responded, sighing as he sat back against the sofa cushion.

Theo rolled his eyes and went back to his book. He hated having to listen to him talk about her, hated that he had to re-live their moments together, since no matter where it seemed he was at in the house Ron ended up there somehow always bringing her up.

"Yea, I've been thinking about her a lot too. Seems like something big is about to happen doesn't it? I have a feeling, I don't know how to explain it, but I have a feeling ya know?"

Something about Seamus' words triggered Theo's memory, and soon he got lost again in his own thoughts of Hermione.

_"I have a feeling you know?" her words were light and melodic to Theo's ears, filling the space of the small alcove they were sitting in behind the history section of the library._

_"You have a feeling that I'm a good boy who got sorted wrong?" Theo chuckled at her from across the table, his voice husky._

_Even in the dim glow from the lantern he could see her cheeks grow warm as she fluttered her eyelashes. "No, Theodore, I think you are very Slytherin. But I have a feeling that there is more to you than meets the eye, you're nicer than Malfoy and his friends."_

_Theo was quiet for a long moment, watching her from across the table as she went back to studying her parchment. She had caught his eye last year at the Yule Ball, on the arm of Viktor Krum, and even Malfoy hadn't been able to utter a single negative word about her. None of the Slytherins could deny her beauty that night._

_But it hadn't just been that night for Theo, he'd watched her much more closely since then. It only added to his interest in her when they had been partnered up that year in Ancient Runes. They'd been spending more and more time together, Ancient Runes being one of the more difficult subjects that year with many assignments to be done._

_Thus why they were sitting in the library, almost past curfew, working on a particularly hard project. Thus why they were slowly becoming friends, but Theo was finding himself wanting much more than friendship from the smart brunette._

_He ran a hand through his thick dark hair, "I'm only nice when I want something, Hermione."_

_She looked up from her parchment and rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face as she tucked a stray curl behind her ear. "Well I know it's not for me to finish this assignment on my own, you're not a lazy prat so tell me, Theodore, what is it that you want?"_

_He continued to study her face as she looked at him, as she raised an eyebrow impatiently awaiting his answer. When he didn't give her one she rolled her eyes again and got up to replace a book from a previous assignment she'd worked on, whose shelf happened to be next to them._

_When she turned back towards the table she let out a small gasp as she realized that Theo was standing right there, she hadn't even heard him get up. He slowly stepped forward, forcing her to step back. He reached out as her back hit the shelf and caged her between his arms. She sucked in a breath as she realized how close they were._

_He slowly bent his head down, slow enough for her to push him away if she wanted, but when she didn't he gently brushed his lips across hers. Her hands came up but instead of pushing him away she placed them on his chest. He kissed her again, this time with more pressure, and reveled in the fact that she responded._

_When he broke away from her she was looking up at him curiously. He smirked before whispering against her lips, "I just have a feeling, you know?"_

* * *

_"I just have a feeling you know?"_

Hermione awoke with a start, gasping for air. She felt light headed, and very weak, but very aware that she was herself again. She felt the darkness creeping just beneath her surface, like hazy smoke coiling around and around. She pushed it back as hard as she could, grasping at the memories of her lover.

She stumbled out of bed and wrapped her robe around her, the room felt like ice and she wondered why the fireplace wasn't lit. The fireplace in the sitting room wasn't lit either, and the hall lights were all out as she slowly walked towards the room she last remembered Draco being in.

She looked behind her as she approached the room, and wondered why there was no sign of life in the house. She opened the door and quickly entered, quietly shutting it behind her. When she turned around there he was, sitting at the table with Blaise and Pansy. He looked frightened of her for a moment, before arching an eyebrow at the expression on her face.

"Granger?" he asked quietly.

The darkness slammed against her like an angry tiger that wanted out of its cage, causing a pained expression to cross her face, but she pushed against it with everything she had.

Draco stood and slowly walked around the table to come closer to her, "Hermione?"

Her eyes snapped to his, "I don't know how much time I have. It's getting harder to control."

He raised an eyebrow, "Granger, you haven't had control of her in a long time."

She shook her head in confusion and brought a hand to her forehead as she struggled to keep ahold of herself, "what are you going on about? We just had the conversation about Theo a couple of weeks ago."

Draco sighed and looked back at Blaise and Pansy, not surprisingly it was Pansy who chose to break the news to her.

"Granger, the Dark Lord started overseeing any and all potions you ever take. The house elves that knew how to brew the potion that brought you back, they were all killed. There hasn't been a way to make more without someone getting suspicious, it takes too long to brew." Pansy explained sadly.

Hermione shook her head, "so what are you saying?"

"She's saying that you haven't been yourself in a long time. A very long time," Blaise answered.

"How long is a long time?"

"Months, Granger. It has been about seven months since we had the conversation about Theo," Draco replied, he looked as if he wanted to come closer but wouldn't.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "why hasn't Harry made his move?!" She started walking towards Draco but stopped as he backed away from her quickly.

"Well you see here's the thing, you basically tried to rape Draco to get pregnant so that you could give the Dark Lord a pureblood heir but he walked in and ruined the moment and then punished you for it because he never agreed to it in the first place. So now, the Dark Lord has doubts about you, Draco is bloody terrified of you, Potter can't make a move because the Dark Lord has to have complete trust in you, and did I mention that you tried to rape Draco?" Blaise listed off like it was amusing.

Draco and Pansy both glared at him while Hermione just stared at him incredulously. She opened her mouth to say something but ended up falling to her knees in pain, clutching at her chest. Draco struggled with deciding whether or not to go forward and help her, it ended up being Blaise, surprisingly, who was the one to help her back to her feet.

She looked at Draco through her lashes and the look in her eyes chilled Draco to the bone, however the voice she spoke in was still her own. "I need to get back, where is everyone?"

"On the other side of the Manor, he's planning a big attack, they are getting ready for it," Blaise informed her.

"Take me back to my room please," she spoke to Pansy.

Pansy nodded and moved to help her stand as Blaise went to stand next to Draco. As they watched her walk away without so much as another word Blaise looked at Draco out of the corner of his eye.

"What do you suppose all that was about? How did her conscious break through her other self? I thought when it got this bad there was only one thing that could do it without the potion?"

Draco frowned as he thought about it, Blaise was right, there was only one thing that could bring her back but he had no idea how it had happened.

"Theo."


	6. 6

Harry frowned across the table at Theo, "I don't like it."

Theo just shrugged and sat back in his chair, "I don't think any of us like the positions were in, Potter. But I feel helpless here, and I want to go back. I want to go back to her."

Harry shook his head, he knew what had to happen. He had known for a while, that Hermione had to die at Theo's hand, though Theo didn't know it. He always wondered why she had to die, why they couldn't just create enough of a distraction to catch Voldemort unawares. He didn't want his best friend to die, and he didn't have faith that the man sitting across from him would be able to do it when the time came. He knew he wouldn't be able to.

It was a long and confusing story, one that he had heard many times because he simply did not want to the believe it. Dumbledore had raised Hermione to be sacrificed should the war get as far as it now had. He had the utmost confidence in her that she would be able to make Voldemort feel something for her, but Harry had his doubts. After all, it was feelings such as these that had landed Tom Riddle where it did that had set everything into motion, the feeling called love. Harry didn't think that the Dark Lord would be capable of loving anything.

He had heard the rumors and he had read the reports, but he had a hard time imagining Hermione as anything other than the smart witch that he had grown up with and loved like a sister. He couldn't see her in the way that had once been used to describe Bellatrix Lestrange.

The truth had been harder for Ron to swallow, and he still was angry about the whole thing. Ron didn't know about Hermione and Theo, and Harry didn't want to be the one to tell him, but they were nearing the end. He was going to find out eventually.

"You know that she can't do her job properly when you're around," Harry said, dropping his voice to a whisper as he heard Seamus and Ron come in the back door from the yard.

"Do you want her to become like them permanently? One can only take so much pretending to be something until eventually, they become it. I don't doubt her, Potter, but dark magic takes a toll on you. I've seen it destroy some of the strongest willed men I know, do you really think she'd be able to live with herself once all of this is over? Do you really think she would be able to stomach the fact that she slept with him? She can never remember what happens right? Well what happens when memories start surfacing? When she starts having nightmares and can't depict them from reality? She'll end up with a one way ticket to St. Mungo's."

Harry sighed and shook his head at Theo because he knew that she wasn't going to go crazy.

He knew that she was going to die.

* * *

Draco winced and grit his teeth as Hermione cast another Crucio on a Death Eater that had dared speak against her. The man would most likely never recover from as many curses as she had cast on him, not that Draco had any sympathy for the man, but it wasn't fun to watch all the same.

He heard Daphne whimper next to him and he gently nudged her arm with his own, the only reassurance he could give her without it drawing attention.

"Enough, my pet," the Dark Lord said, standing from his chair. He looked at her with an intensity that Draco recognized as pure unadulterated lust.

The fire in her eyes never extinguished, but she stopped the curse and walked slowly towards the man who was now laying in a pool of his own blood from other various curses, his face hardly recognizable. She grabbed him by the collar of his robes and pulled him up as she leaned down so that their faces were almost touching.

"Have you learned your lesson?" she asked him, her voice that velvety melodic purr that Draco had come to fear.

The man opened his mouth to speak but had difficulty, he must have given her a satisfactory answer that Draco couldn't hear because she dropped him back to the floor and turned back towards the Dark Lord.

Her eyes never left her target as she silkily stalked towards him, reaching up to undo the ties on her robe. Draco's eyes narrowed towards the floor, not wishing to see whatever she had on underneath.

"You are all dismissed," the Dark Lord's voice sounded through the room.

Everyone turned to leave, and everyone left as fast as they could. Draco was the last one out and turned to close the door behind him, his breath catching in his throat as he had no choice but to glimpse the backside of a very naked Hermione and the face of a very aroused Tom Riddle. He couldn't help that his eyes roved over her form, he couldn't help that it stirred things in him that he didn't want stirred.

He shut the door in hurry and stormed off to his room.

* * *

"Draco, you need to come quick," Daphne's voice on the other side of his door woke him from his thoughts some time later.

He frowned at the tone of her voice and rolled off the bed to answer his door, he opened it to see her wide frantic gaze looking up at him.

"What's wrong, Daph?"

"It's Theo, he's back," she said hurriedly.

His breath caught in his throat, did that mean it was time? Were they finally at the edge of this war, where either Harry or the Dark Lord would come out triumphant? He quickly followed her down the hall, not bothering to put his robes on or shut the door to his room.

When they entered the drawing room that the younger Death Eaters usually hung out in, he let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding when he saw Theo. He was glad that his friend was ok, but the arrival of him meant trouble for Hermione.

"Theo, what are you doing here?" he hadn't meant for it to sound as harsh as it did, and he inwardly cringed when he saw Theo raise an eyebrow in his direction.

"I think you know what I'm doing here, Draco."

Blaise frowned towards Draco with a questioning glance, and Draco wondered if Theo himself knew now what he had to do, but he wasn't about to ask.

"You're going to blow it for her, if she changes back now, the Dark Lord will kill you."

"I need to save her, she's been this way for far too long, she's going to lose herself and go completely nutters if she doesn't get a reprieve. I know you don't give a shit about her, Draco, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life with her in St. Mungo's."

His words told Draco that he didn't have a clue what he was supposed to do, and also that his report to Harry about her coming back to herself hadn't reached him either.

"She turned a few nights ago, she woke up and didn't realize that it had been months since she'd been the one in control, but she didn't have a very good hold on it," Pansy murmured from the table.

Theo's brows furrowed in confusion, "how was she able? Harry said there were no more potions."

Blaise shrugged, "that's what we were wondering, we thought you were the only thing that could do that, with being her tether and all."

"Blaise!" Draco barked. The air in the room grew chilly as Theo looked between the two other men, clearly not understanding what was going on.

"What are you talking about? What's a tether?"

Blaise looked genuinely sorry for saying anything and Draco rubbed at his face, as he sat down. "How much has Potter told you?"

"He's filled me in on some of your reports, made sure I knew that she was doing ok, well at least as ok as she can be. I don't like it, but I know he's bedded her. I've heard rumors though, that she's turning into another Bellatrix."

Daphne shuddered and rubbed her arms, "she's definitely gone mental."

"So what the hell is this nonsense about a tether?" Theo asked, turning to Blaise.

The Italian looked at Draco out of the corner of his eye, waiting for him to say something, because Blaise sure as hell wasn't going to explain anything, he didn't know what Theo was and was not supposed to know.

Draco sighed, trying to think of what to say that wouldn't give away any crucial information that would get in the way of Theo doing his job when it came time to. "She, somehow without you knowing, tethered herself to you so that when you're around it brings about her good side."

Theo looked thoughtful for a moment, "Merlin, when the bloody hell could she have done that?"

Blaise gave a sharp laugh, "oh I don't know maybe when you were sleeping after one of the many times you shagged her brains out?"

The sharp nagging feeling of jealousy hit Draco for a moment and he hated every second of it, he bit the inside of his cheek and ignored the hard beating of his heart, "he's right. That's probably exactly when it happened."

A look of sudden realization crossed Theo's face, "it why she sent me away."

Draco could barely make out the whispered statement but heard it none the less and nodded, "it's why she sent you away."

Blaise shook his head and snorted, "Merlin what is it with Granger and you two?"

Theo's eyes snapped to Draco, "what does he mean?"

Draco paled, "I don't want to talk about it."

"She tried to rape him, cursed him and everything. Got caught by the Dark Lord right before she got started. Scarred poor Draco for life I'm afraid," Blaise snickered.

Theo's eyes grew dark and he glared at Draco, in turn the blonde scowled right back at him. "Oh come off it, Theo. It's not like I bloody volunteered."

"I think we have more important things to think about right now, Theo, you basically waltzed in here like you've been here the whole time. It's only a matter of time before the Dark Lord and Hermione find out you're back. He isn't going to be happy," Pansy said.

The room grew quiet for a few moments until Theo spoke again, "I don't care, I need to see her."

* * *

Her magic crackled around her and it suffocated him, he felt like he was choking on her power and he couldn't believe that this was his Hermione. Blaise had gone to get her, she had been by herself in her rooms, staring into the fire again.

They had left them alone in the room, though Theo had been warned that none of them could be sure that she wouldn't harm him herself. When she had seen him she had cocked her head to the side and stared at him curiously, and then slowly she started to get angry.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I wanted to make sure you were ok," he struggled to answer.

Her power extinguished and she was left smirking at him, "I've never been better, Theodore."

He scowled at her, she'd never called him that before. He wondered how long it would take before her other side recognized that she needed to come to the surface. She started walking towards him, swaying her hips as she drew nearer.

" _He_ makes sure that I am always ok, _He_ makes sure that my every needs are met," she reached him and swayed around him dancing her fingers over his chest and up his arm. She went behind him and brushed her lips against his ear as she continued to whisper, " _He_ fulfills my every desire, and _He_ will kill you when he finds out that you are back."

Theo could feel himself react to her even though he knew she was goading him, "I'm not giving up on you, Hermione." He turned around and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to his chest before she could react.

She sucked in a breath and her eyes fluttered closed as her mind grew foggy, "Theo," she whispered.

He held her tighter, "I love you. I will never stop loving you."

He couldn't see her eyes grow dark, he didn't realize the door to the room had opened, he completely missed the deathly glare he was receiving from a very angry Tom Riddle.

He did not, however, miss the Crucio that hit him square in the back.

* * *

Theo awoke on the cold and dirty floor of the dungeons, his whole body racked with pain. He grabbed at his chest as he coughed and struggled to get up, not realizing that he was coughing up blood. As soon as he was able to stand he turned towards the bars that held him captive and realized that Hermione was sitting just outside of his cell.

As much as he wanted to be angry with her, he found that it was difficult, after all it wasn't her who had inflicted the curse on him over and over. "What are you doing here?"

She glared at him, twirling her wand around in her hands, "I came to tell you that I killed your precious girlfriend."

He glared at her, a confused expression on his face, "what are you talking about, Hermione?"

"I'm not her! She is gone! She's always so bothersome whenever you're around, so I made sure to take care of the little bitch. I just wanted to see the look on your face when I told you," she sneered.

Theo made his way over to the bars slowly, "you can't kill her, and I'll never give up on her. As soon as you're away from him you'll see, she will fight you. She will fight her way back to me, and we will destroy you."

"Enough! You stupid fool! Dark magic is a wonderful thing when you're trying to get rid of an annoying twit like her, I split her little righteous self out of this body." She stood and walked over to the bars, looking up at Theo, eyes blazing with a honey fire, "it's hidden where no one will ever be able to find it, she begged me not to do it, promised me that she would be a good little girl, but I decided I've had enough!"

Theo's heart beat against his chest so loudly that he was sure she could hear it, he wondered if she was just bluffing, but if she was then by now his Hermione would have come out by being around him. How could she have split herself up like that? It made no sense, but it made his blood boil, to him it was as good as her really being dead.

"You bitch!" he snarled and slammed himself against the bars, reaching for her.

She backed away and turned to leave the dungeon, her laugh leaving an echoed trail behind that chilled Theo's blood. He slammed his fists against the bars until they were bloody as he screamed at her every obscenity he could think of. He didn't want to believe her, but something in his gut told him that she wasn't lying.

His Hermione was gone.

* * *

Harry dodged another spell as it flew past his head, the Dark Lord was still on the other side of the Manor according to other members of the Order who were currently fighting Death Eaters left and right.

On the other side of the Manor with Hermione.

Seamus and Dean had gone and blown up the dungeons, freeing Theo and giving him a healing potion so that he could join in the fight. He'd been down there for about three days before Harry had finally decided that it was the final time to strike.

Ron sent a curse at the Death Eater that was targeting Harry and watched as he went down, "we have to get through this wall of them before we can reach Voldemort, Harry. There's just so many of them."

No sooner had the words left his mouth a bright light and a booming sound knocked out over half of the Death Eaters standing in their way. When the light dimmed they could see Draco fighting on their side with Blaise and Pansy in tow.

Harry and Draco shared a nod before Theo, Seamus and Dean made their way to them. "Let's get going, if it keeps up like this the Dark Lord and Hermione are just going to retreat. And then we will have to find them and we won't have any leads this time," Theo yelled over all the chaos.

"This ends tonight! Let's go," Harry yelled back.

It took about twenty minutes until they found them, standing at the top of a hill on the Manor grounds, over looking the battle below that seemed to be growing as more reinforcements from both sides kept arriving.

Theo started running towards them but was quickly pulled back by Ron, "you can't go running up there without a plan! We have to make sure Hermione makes it out safe!"

Theo glared at him and pulled his robes out of the ginger haired boy's grip, "Hermione IS dead! That _thing_ in her body cast her out and I will destroy her!"

He took off as a stunned Ron and Harry looked to Draco and Blaise who looked equally confused. "We have no idea what he's talking about," Blaise said, shaking his head.

Ron started to go after Theo but Harry grabbed him and held him back, "I'll take care of it, you guys go and help out the Order."

With a nod, Ron took off followed by Blaise and Pansy, Draco stayed behind with Harry. "Is this how it's supposed to go?" Draco asked.

Harry shook his head, "I have no idea what he is on about."

Both boys looked up as Theo neared the figures at the top of the hill, the feeling of dread in both of their hearts as they watched Hermione turn around and face Theo, the Dark Lord right behind her.

* * *

The blood coming out of Hermione's mouth was all the distraction Harry needed, while Theo had fought with her, he had fought against the Dark Lord, who was less distracted with her well being as Harry had thought he would be.

But he was distracted nonetheless.

Theo had struck her with a curse that was enough to drop her to her knees, and it was enough time for Harry to throw out an Expelliarmus followed by the killing curse. It was anti-climatic to say the least, for as long as the war had waged such a small thing had taken him down in the end.

As soon as it had happened the Death Eaters that were left over disapparated and within moments all that were left were members of the Order, and all the attention was drawn to the hillside. Theo hadn't actually killed Hermione, a fact that had confused Draco and Blaise seeing as how Harry had said he needed to.

But it seemed, Theo had other plans.

Hermione smirked up at him, the bottom half of her face covered in blood, "what's the problem? Can't harm the image of your precious girlfriend?"

Theo looked at her with absolute rage and fury, "dying is too good for you. I plan on making your life a living hell."

She laughed, "torture? That's your big plan?"

Harry and Draco slowly made their way up behind Theo, Hermione's eyes flickering to Harry for the briefest of moments before moving to Draco.

"Such a shame, you would have done great things at my side," she smiled up at the blonde.

Theo turned to look at Draco and it was enough of a distraction that Hermione lunged forward and grabbed her wand from his hand and turned it on herself as both Harry and Draco cried out, "no!"

But the whispered words of the killing curse left her lips and her body fell lifeless to the ground before Theo could even turn his head back around.

A strangled cry left his lips as he rushed forward to gather her in his arms. He rocked her back and forth, tears falling on her face. He refused to let her go, even when Ron tried to pry her from his arms, but he threatened to curse anyone who came near them.

Eventually it was Daphne that was able to retrieve her from his arms, and it was Daphne that came to them with answers.

Dark Hermione had indeed succeeded in splitting out the good half of her, into a horcrux. As far as Daphne knew, she'd made three of them, but had no idea where or what they were.

"Daph, how is it you know all of this?" Draco asked her.

"Who better to keep that information than the one that was the most frightened of her? After what she did to Astoria, she knew I wasn't going to cross her or she would kill her. She only told me recently, I had no idea until a few weeks ago."

"Why decide to tell you all of a sudden I wonder?" Pansy thought out loud.

Daphne looked away, her eyes flashing with something that Draco recognized as fear. "Tell us the rest Daphne."

She looked down at the ground for a few moments before looking back up at Harry, "in the end she had her own followers. Death Eaters that would have gone with her anywhere should she had ever chosen to leave the Dark Lord. Followers that would have followed out any order she'd given them, including killing my sister should I fail her."

Realization dawned on Harry as the rest of the group looked at each other, confusion written all over everyone's faces.

It hit Theo moments after Harry realized, "she made three horcruxes, and gathered her own followers. Merlin, she plans on coming back again."

Blaise shook his head, "you mean to tell me, that this shit isn't over yet?!"

Everyone started yelling at each other and arguing amongst themselves but Daphne just stared at Draco, and after a few moments it was unnerving, and then he felt like the wind was knocked out of him.

Hermione's laughter echoed through his mind, "such a shame you wouldn't come to my side willingly, now you have no choice, and my pet you have work to do."

Draco lifted his wand and pointed it towards Theo, no one but Daphne paying him any attention. She shut her eyes and turned her head away, a tear rolling down her face.

_Stop! I refuse to do this, you're dead. I'm imagining things, why am I drawing my wand against Theo!_

He stopped and put his hand down, only his hand didn't go down. Hermione's laugh filling his mind until he curled up into a ball and tried to hide from it.

It wasn't _his_ hand that gripped his wand, and it wasn't _his_ voice that whispered the words.

"Avada Kedavra."


End file.
